socca.

In our new apartment, we have a lot more cabinet space.   It's awesome (because who doesn't want more space) but it's also extremely annoying because I now see, on an almost daily basis, the items I purchased, used half of, and are now languishing in the cabinets just waiting to be used again.   

So the challenge has become, how can I use these half finished bags of things. Things like chickpea flour which I bought at one time and only used 1/4 cup of...

And this my friends is how I found myself making socca for dinner one night.   Socca is a chickpea flavored flatbread/gluten free version of pizza and it's quite frankly awesome.   It comes together in about 20 minutes and works with a wide array of toppings (making it an easy way to finish off those bottles of assorted pickled things you have in your fridge).   Our favorite version involves olives, roasted red peppers, and feta which gives it a middle-eastern vibe, but you could easily make it more Italian (with pesto, arugula, and Parmesan).  The possibilities are endless (and it may mean chickpea flour will now be a pantry staple).   

Socca
Recipe adapted from the NYTimes

1 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings of your choice - Feta, roasted red peppers, olives, herbs, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, sprouts, pesto

Heat the oven to 450. Put a well-seasoned or nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or cast-iron skillet in oven. (If you have a socca pan, obviously that will work well also.)

Put the chickpea flour in a bowl; add the salt and pepper. Slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover and let sit while the oven heats, or for as long as 12 hours. The batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream.

Remove the pan, pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into it and swirl. Immediately pour the batter into the pan and top with desired toppings. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pancake is firm and the edges set.

Cut it into wedges, and serve hot or warm.  Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and eaten at room temperature.    

pasta con ceci.

I have the tendency to go a wee bit overboard when ordering food products online.  In an effort to justify the shipping costs (or in an effort to get shipping for free), I often times find myself purchasing more then I may need (I'm exceptionally economical).  This explains how I ended up with 10 pounds of oats from Anson Mills (we are almost done!), enough Soom tahini to make several gallons of hummus, and most recently, 9 pounds of beans from Rancho Gordo.   

The thing I like most about all of these newfangled heirloom ingredient websites is that they include recipes. When dealing with new varieties of an ingredient, it's possible that they may behave differently then your run of the mill supermarket brand (longer cooking times etc.)  Having a recipe specifically created for that variety and being able to use it as a point of reference is incredibly helpful.   I personally love the recipes because the people making them know their product and they know how to make that product shine in a dish.   

There is something about the simpliciity of this pasta dish that I just love.  It's not revolutionary in the slightest and you definitely don't need Anson Mills chickpeas for it (though I do love their chickpeas) but it's an incredibly satisfying one-pot meal for this werid in-between March weather we are currently experiencing.   

Pasta con Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
Recipe from Rancho Gordo 

2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Garbanzos
1 cup cooking liquid from the garbanzos
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large sage leaves (I omitted since I didn't have any on hand)
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for serving)
4 ounces pancetta, in small strips
4 cups fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 ounces pasta
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, for serving

Heat olive oil in a large pot over a medium low heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and pancetta and gently cook for about 10 minutes. The pancetta will start to brown. Stir in the spinach and toss so that the hot oil covers each leaf. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Add the garbanzos, the cooking liquid and stir. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and then add to the garbanzo mixture. Test for salt.

Serve in bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and allow guests to add the Parmesan cheese.

chickpea stew with tomato, tumeric, yogurt, and harissa.

There are two types of soup people in this world.  The people who can eat a bowl and have that be a meal (me!) and the people who eat a bowl and then wonder where the rest of their meal is (most everyone else).  Soup is usually a starter or a side to a sandwich, it is rarely the main attraction.

This soup is more substantial then most which lends itself to being the center of a meal rather then a supporting role.  More of a stew then a soup, it's chock-full of chickpeas (a full pound!), greens, and more flavor then I thought was even possible in a vegetarian, bean based pot of deliciousness.  It also gets better with age which means making a pot ensures you dinner for the better part of a week.  

If you feel you can't serve it without a side of something, a hunk of good crusty, nutty bread wouldn't be a bad accoutrement (OK, and maybe a wedge of cheese).             

Chickpea Stew with Tomato, Turmeric, Yogurt and Harissa
Recipe from the Gjelina Cookbook

The original recipe says you get 4-6 servings out of this soup.  Unless you are feeding 300 pound men I think 6 - 8 servings is more realistic.

Serves 6 - 8

1 pound of dried chickpeas
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and cut into half moons
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 cup of dry white wine
4 cups of vegetable stock
1 bunch Tuscan kale or swiss chard, stemmed and cut into strips (2 inches, 5cm wide)
1 teaspoon of red wine or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup of harissa
1/3 cup of spiced yogurt (see recipe below)

In a small, dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds just until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool before grinding to a powder in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

For the chickpeas: In a large bowl, cover the chickpeas with water by 2 inches and soak overnight. Drain the chickpeas and rinse with cool water.

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, combine the chickpeas, onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Add water to cover by about 2 inches. Season with a little salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the chickpeas are tender but still hold their shape, about 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Cool the chickpeas in the cooking liquid and then drain, discarding the liquid. Set the chickpeas aside.

In a small, dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds just until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool. With a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind to a powder.

In a clean, large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic; season with salt and pepper; and cook until the vegetables begin to soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add the powdered cumin mixture and the paprika, turmeric, thyme, and bay leaf and cook until quite fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, scraping the bottom of the pot frequently so that it does not burn, and cook until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan until reduced by more than half, 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, discard the bay leaf, and return to a simmer.

In a blender, combine 1 cup of the soup base with 2 cups of the cooked chickpeas and purée until smooth. Return the puréed beans to the soup pot. Throw the kale into the stew and cook until softened. Add the remaining cooked chickpeas and gently stir. Remove from the heat and let stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Just before serving, adjust the salt and spike with the vinegar. Serve with a dollop of spiced yogurt and a drizzle of harissa.

Spiced Yogurt
Recipe from the Gjelina Cookbook

¼ tsp of coriander seeds (or ground coriander)
¼ tsp of cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
1 cup of Greek-style yogurt
2 Tbsp of chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp of chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt
3 Tbsp of water, or as needed

In a small, dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds just until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool before grinding to a powder in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. (Omit this step if using ground spices.)

In a food processor, combine the yogurt with the ground coriander and cumin, cilantro, and mint. Process until the herbs are broken down and the yogurt is tinted green, about 5 seconds. Add the olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and pulse just until incorporated. Taste and season with salt. Stir in the water, a little bit at a time, stopping when the yogurt is still thick but thin enough to drizzle from a spoon.

Over time, the lemon juice can cause the yogurt to break and lose its creamy texture, so make just a small amount and use it right away.

roasted zucchini salad.

In my never ending quest to eat more vegetables without feeling as if I am eating more vegetables, I've begun to really think about salads and what a salad actually is and can be.

The default is to think of salad as a side to the main meal.  It probably conjures images of lettuce (most likely iceberg), halved cherry tomatoes, and cucumber slices.  I imagine it is tossed in an "herbed" Italian vinaigrette and served with a couple of slices of bad Italian bread.

And it's bad.  Just really awful and the reason I hated salads for so long.

But now that I have my own kitchen I can rethink everything.  My salads have begun to look very different then your standard "lettuce just thrown into a bowl with a couple of sub-standard accouterments".  They are flavorful! Each ingredient is well thought-out! And they are comprised of things other than lettuce.  Don't get me wrong - I love a good head of butter lettuce and arugula is the cat's pajamas but you know what makes for a really great salad base? Roasted zucchini.  Zatar roasted zucchini to be exact.  It's flavorful, substantial, and it can stand-up to a whole slew of mix-in's without getting limp and soggy.   Things like chickpeas, toasted chopped almonds, and feta.  It's a salad that can stand-up as a main but can also serve as a side at your next BBQ without going bad.  If there is a way to make summer even better, this is it.      

Roasted Zucchini Salad with Chickpeas, Almonds, and Feta

Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side

This salad is a dream because it tastes just as good on the day of as it does 2 days later.  How many salads manage to get better with age?   Like 3.  Maybe.   Being able to make it ahead and have it still taste phenomenal hours later is why it deserves a spot at your next summer soiree.  Call dibs on the leftovers for lunch.

For the Zucchini

4 or 5 small to medium sized zucchini sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons zatar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sumac

For the Salad

1/4 cup almonds toasted and chopped
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup mixed herbs (I used basil, mint, and lemon thyme)
1/2 cup crumbled feta

For the Dressing

Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Squeeze of honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon aleppo pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the zucchini slices in a bowl and toss with the olive oil, zatar, salt and sumac.  Lay the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (this will need to be done in 2 batches).  Roast for 15 minutes.  Flip the zucchini and then roast for an additional 10 minutes.   Repeat with the remaining zucchini slices.

Combine the zucchini slices in a bowl with the almonds, chickpeas, herbs, and feta.  

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Pour over the salad ingredients and toss to combine.  Eat with abandon.

slow cooked chickpeas on toast with poached egg.

"If you want to make it dinner put an egg on it.  If you want to make a dinner put an egg on it.  Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh."

-Lyrics written by me but sung to the tune of Beyonce "Single Ladies".  

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, throwing an egg on just about anything makes it a meal. It's my cooking motto, my life motto, my "I don't know what to eat but we are hungry so an egg it is" motto. The fact that I now have a song to go along with it just further reinforces the fact that this is a completely valid maxim.  

Most throw an egg on recipes come about out of necessity and the need to use up what we have languishing in the fridge.  On occasion I stumble across one that drives me to make it out of sheer desire for the end product. That is is why this particular recipe got made.  

Yotam Ottolenghi knows his way around vegetable and grains and beans so when he tells you to make to make a chickpea dish that takes 5 hours to cook, you may think that sounds absurd, but you do it because he always seems to know best.  And boy does the man does know best.  This recipe is brilliant. Chickpeas are bathed in an amp-ed up tomato sauce that leaves them as tender as can be.  They are piled high on sour dough toast and topped with that requisite egg and a sprinkling of za'atar.  It's warm and comforting and impossibly addicting especially with a the mix of runny yolk and tomato sauce.  Eggs and winter just belong together.  

Slow Cooked Chickpeas on Toast with Poached Egg 

Recipe from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi  

I wont lie that a little bit of goat chesse spread on the grilled sourdough is a mighty fine (and delicious) addition.  

Rounded 1 cup/220 g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight with 2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus 1 tbsp. to finish
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup/140 g)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons tomato paste
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
2 medium red peppers, cut into 1/4-inch/5-mm dice (about 1 1/4 cups/180 g) (Can also use canned roasted tomatoes) 

1 2/3 cups/300 grams crushed or diced canned tomatoes
½ tsp. superfine sugar
4 slices sourdough bread, brushed with olive oil and grilled on both sides
4 eggs, freshly poached (or over easy)
2 tsp. za'atar
Salt and black pepper

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place them in a large saucepan with plenty of water. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, skim the surface, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Place the oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, cayenne, paprika, red peppers, 1 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper in a food processor and blitz to form a paste.

Wipe out the chickpea saucepan, return it to the stove over medium heat, and add the paste. Fry for 5 minutes (there’s enough oil there to allow for this), stirring occasionally, before adding the tomato, sugar, chickpeas, and a scant 1 cup/200 ml water. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 4 hours, stirring from time to time and adding more water when needed to retain a sauce-like consistency. Remove the lid and cook for a final hour: The sauce needs to thicken without the chickpeas becoming dry.

Place a piece of warm grilled bread on each plate and spoon the chickpeas over the bread. Lay a poached egg on top, followed by a sprinkle of za’atar and a drizzle of oil. Serve at once.

crispy pimenton chickpea.

Oh the chickpea!  As someone who tries to eat less meat on a daily basis, I should be offsetting that by trying to eat more legumes.  Beans are good!  They are cheap, they are nutritious, and they have the fiber and protein I need (I sound like a terrible commercial I know but it's all true) - but even with all the being said, they aren't a part of my daily eating's.  Sure I throw can's of beans in chili's and soups.  I've made side dishes of braised vegetables and beans, but they also seem to be regaled as something to just be added to the pot after the fact.  It's such a sad tale, but its true. 

Chickpeas, Garbanzo's whatever you feel like calling them is a bean I love but tend to avoid cooking with - the reason being there may have been an incident where I made hummus from dried beans.  I soaked my beans overnight as the directions indicated and the next day added them to the Cuisinart not realizing I was missing a teeny tiny step involved - the step where one cooks the beans.  And of course, I am making hummus in preparation for my birthday party that I was hosting myself that night.  At that point, I called my mom in tears not understanding why the hummus she makes is smooth as silk with no chunks, and here i was sitting with a chunky mixture of raw chickpeas and olive oil.  Under her mommy guidance I realized there was no way to salvage this one as much as Tyler tried, and into the composter it went. 

The below recipe is my first fore ray back into cooking with chickpeas.  It involves canned chickpeas (no cooking there!) and my favorite spice smoked paprika(!). They can be consumed just as is or they make a lovely topping on rice or added into a salad with tuna.  I've even envisioning them tucked into a frittata. 

Crispy Pimenton Chickpeas
Recipe From Big Girls Small Kitchens
Makes 4 Cups

Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas (4 cups), rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika (pimenton)
½ teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Use a dish towel or a salad spinner to make sure the chickpeas are as dry as possible. Lay them flat on a non-stick baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then shake to redistribute, and cook for 10 minutes more. Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add the roasted chickpeas and toss until well coated. Return the chickpeas to the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5 more minutes, until very fragrant. Serve warm or at room temperature.